On The Arrow
by A.V Storm
Summary: On the wedding day of Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell, Edward and Roy Mustang have an unexpected conversation about where their futures are headed three years after the Promised Day; a conversation that neither of them knew that they needed. [One-shot; EdWin, Royai, parental!RoyEd]


**Author's Notes:**  
Here is some parental!RoyEd for y'all. I'm not sure if this has been done before and I apologize if it had, but it was something I was thinking about this morning when marveling over the relationships between Roy and Edward, Roy and Riza, and Edward and Winry. Enjoyyy. I apologize if this is out of character for anyone involved. Teehee.

* * *

The springtime in Resembool was a light stroke of warmth that spread evenly over the small valley, entrapping it over the miles of farm lands and long blades of grass. It had been a long couple of weeks since Edward Elric had returned from Xing alongside his brother after several months of being away from the phenomenal countryside. Visiting Xing had felt like a foreign world to him, a hue of the unknown that gave him the slightest feeling of being truly homesick for the first time. The former state Alchemist reveled in the eastern country, but when he thought of Resembool and who he had left behind, he discovered himself wanting to return home sooner than later.

Pounding came into the back of his senses when he recognized how much he truly missed Winry Rockbell. The fact that he had left her behind with a subtle marriage proposal suddenly seemed proposterous until he returned to Resembool again. And from that moment on, he knew why he had done and said what he had. Winry had _waited_ patiently for him every time he had turned his back on her and walked in a different direction. And now he knew it in his bones that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his days in the world - even if it meant giving all of his life to her indefinitely. It wasn't equivalent exchange, which was an unfamiliar concept of his own process of psychological muse, but that didn't matter now. Not after everything that had happened.

The wedding plans were jumbled together and Winry shined with delight when the day was decided. It wouldn't be anything over extravagant or flashy - perhaps they both had wanted their formal union to be low key and simple, since so many of the aspects of their relationship hadn't been before. Alphonse naturally would be his Best Man, and they promptly discussed wedding guests. Winry cried at the realization that none of their parents would be present, despite that Edward felt a cold chill rupture down the back of his spine at the coming absolution...

His mother wouldn't be there - Hohenheim wouldn't, either. But maybe somewhere, beyond the gate and the eye of Truth, Trisha Elric would be smiling fondly. The one smile that he and Alphonse had fought to see just one more time...

* * *

Edward stood in the washroom of the Rockbell household, attempting to wrestle down his own attire. Formal wardrobes had escaped his recognition a long time ago, and he couldn't remember the last time that he had tried on a black frock coat and pressed pants. The one he wore now had elegant golden trims and the like. Winry had said that it matched his eyes, but he surmised that she hadn't realized just how long it had been since he had suited himself up on his own. And he had too much stubborn pride to ask his brother for help... Especially since he could already imagine what his humiliating reaction would be.

 _"What's wrong, brother? You can save Amestris from a psychopathic dwarf in a flask, return me to my body, but you can't even tie your own tie on your wedding day...?!"_

"God dammit, bastard tie... If I can do all of that, I sure as hell can figure out how to get you tied...!"

Hands wringing back and forth over the fabric, Edward Elric was nearing the end of his patience for the day. His face was beginning to brim bright red with anger. Swear words began to mix together in concoctions that would make Granny wash his mouth out with soap. He attempted several ways of folding the knot, but each time, he failed. Causing the young man to finally release a very loud note of his own annoyance.

But to his ultimate dismay, there was a knock at the door. Certain that it was Alphonse or Winry, Edward cleared his throat and brushed his bangs away from his eyes in hopes of seeming more composed.

"Come in, Al." He answered dully, preparing himself to be meet his own potential embarrassment.

However, it was not his fellow golden-haired brother who sauntered through the door. It was someone that he hadn't seen in three years, and for the first little moment, Edward gawked.

"Hey there, Fullmetal."

Roy Mustang never missed a syllable, as though he had saved them deliberately. The man mostly looked the same from those years before. Identical disheveled dark hair, fair skin, and the ugliest smirk in the world. For the first little moment, Edward had forgotten that he and Winry had invited the Colonel and the First Lieutenant to attend their wedding. Somewhere in his deepest subconcious, he was glad the Colonel had decided to come. But it didn't change the fact that Roy Mustang was still outright obnoxious.

"Oh, you made it after all." Edward answered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. There was no way in hell he was about to admit to Roy Mustang that he had lost a battle with his tie (nor allow him to know that he was glad to see him), so instead, he began to tether the length of his hair back with an elastic.

"And you're just as prone to state the obvious as usual." Roy mused, leaning one arm against the door as he watched Edward with amusement. "All these years and you still haven't cut off that awful hair?"

"Well if it bothers you so much, why don't you get the hell out of here?!"

"Please, and miss such an important day?" Roy scoffed, chuckling lightly as he batted his eyelashes. "I _am_ the most crucial person here, after all - "

"Shut up, Colonel."

Edward turned towards the man, glaring daggers at him. Fortunately they were nearly the same height now - at least Mustang couldn't make another remark about him being short of stature. A thought that he almost jested about, but was quickly cut off again by the man.

"Hey now, it's Major General now."

"I'm glad to hear that they promoted the greatest pain in the ass in the world. Really, very proud of you." Edward muttered humorously, rolling his eyes. "You'll always be the same annoying Colonel to me."

Briefly, Edward's gaze flitted over the man's attire. It was one of the few times he had seen Roy Mustang without adorning his military uniform. The Major General's slacks were dark brown, wearing fitting leather shoes, a vest, and a... _Tie_. Silently, Edward mentally denounced the formal Colonel. How was it that he was able to accomplish looking so fancy and subtle at the same time? It was almost like he didn't even have to _try_...!

"So, you nervous?"

Mustang's words again brought Edward out of his brief mental qualms. To which case, he scoffed and faced the mirror again. Unconsciously, his hands began to fumble over the fabric of his tie again.

"About what, the world's biggest idiot getting promoted again?" He jeered, peeking to look at Mustang again, who returned the sentiment of rolling his eyes.

"The _wedding_ , you invilid." He murmured, folding his arms over his chest while leaning next to the door frame.

"Why the hell would I be nervous?"

"Why wouldn't you be?" Roy asked, the corners of his mouth lifting upwards. Just when Edward anticipated that Mustang was about to belittle him, the conversation took a very sharp turn. Every word that left Roy Mustang's mouth was careful and deliberate. His lips moved slightly and with ease, relaxing Edward ever so slightly by what he had to say.

"Today's the day that you make the first step to swear an oath to take care of, love, support, and cherise one person likely for the rest of your life. Don't you think that's a little nerve-wracking?"

Frowning, Edward bit his lower lip with conclusive thought. Once more, he thought about his mother - and his father. They didn't stick together, in the end; and his mother had tragically lost her life much too early. The thought caused his heart to drop complacently into the middle of his stomach, wondering what exactly Mustang was trying to tell him.

"What would you know about it?" Edward asked, looking back at Roy with a narrowed gaze. However, it seemed that some of the man's pride crumbled when the question was asked. Instead, he rushed a hand through his hair and chuckled.

"I don't." He paused, but eventually gave out an enormous groan as Edward made another half-hearted attempt to fix his tie.

"Ugh, will you stop it with that thing? Let me see - you're never going to get that tied if you don't do it _right_."

"Hey, I was doing just fine, I don't need _your_ help."

Despite Edward's attempts to shove Mustang away, the military officer was much broader. And much more capable when it came to masculine attire, evidently. Edward's tie was folded into a careful, handsome knot in about thirty seconds, causing all of his dignity to crumble.

"Whatever you say." Mustang jested, grinning as he punched Edward's arm encouragingly.

Ergo, Edward was surprised when the Flame Alchemist began to leave the washroom.

"Anyway, Fullmetal... I just wanted to say hi. I probably shouldn't leave - "

"Wait."

Edward surprised himself when he cut the older man off. To which case, Mustang stopped moving from the entryway. His eyebrows were lifted up the span of his forehead curiously. Even Edward didn't know why he suddenly felt that he had to tell Roy Mustang - of all people - what he was feeling. But even in all of that time, he had admired Colonel Mustang in most ways. Sometimes he felt like the older brother or father that Edward had never had, despite that he would never admit that to anyone; not even to Al, despite that he had a sneaking suspicion that his brother might feel the same way.

"About Winry... I'm not nervous." Edward clarified deftly, staring hard at Roy as more confessions left his mouth. "I've made her wait a million miles for me. Every step I took in Amestris on the leg that she gave me, all of those miles through the desert to visit Xing... It's only fair now that I can give my life to her, even if it's just one life."

Mustang nodded. He closed his eyes only briefly. And from that expression alone, Edward Elric knew that Roy Mustang had needed have this conversation as much as he did. When he finally spoke again, Edward felt the corner of his mouth drag into a smile. There were times that they were more or less the same person.

"Sometimes, one life is all you need to keep you going strong."

A little silence passed between them. Mustang kept his arms crossed, Edward brushed his hands over the front of his suit, wondering how long it would be before Alphonse came to retrieve him and see if he was ready.

"You mean Lieutenant Hawkeye, don't you?" Edward said the inquiry slowly, waiting impatiently for what the answer would be. Of course, Mustang stepped around it as carefully as he would shattered glass.

"She's Major Hawkeye now."

Edward groaned audibly, knowing that he would never know undoubtedly unless he asked outright.

"You love her though, don't you?"

And _then_ the air was awkward. Edward thought that he could have cut the tension with a knife as Roy stared him down. They made eye contact; Mustang's jaw was set so tightly that he wondered if his teeth would break from the pressure. Regardless, after eight years of knowing the man, he was obstinate enough to believe that he deserved to know the truth.

"My personal feelings for the Major are not those to be tread upon lightly, Fullmetal." Roy's voice was quiet, but it was finally something that he could work with. In which case, Edward laughed loudly and shook his head with disbelief that Mustang wouldn't just come out and say it.

"Oh come on! I just spilled my guts to you about Winry and now you're going to shut me up like that?! I'm not in the military anymore, Colonel! Who am I going to tell?! It's not like everyone doesn't _know_ already!"

"You don't have to tell anyone." Roy's voice was lower than ever before, staring sideways reproachfully. "It's going to be a long time before I reach my own ambition. Military regulations would shut us both down if we acted on our own whims. We don't have the luxury of marriage... Not for us."

Sighing, Edward rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. Since the first time Hawkeye had exposed the truths of the Ishvalan war to him, he had thought to himself that the pair of them spent too much time blaming themselves for what happened. But of course - he respected them both enough to know that they were going to change the country. And a marriage license would not change nor alter how much they cared about each other.

"Whatever." He broke the untimely silentude while repositioning his coat over his dress shirt. "Just send me an invitation when it happens."

Roy looked back at him, staring with one eyebrow raised. But he chuckled regardless and nodded with conclusive agreement.

"Speaking of the Major, I should probably go and find her now. She wanted to say hello to your brother - I'm certain she would like it if I went and found her."

"Just don't keep her waiting too long." Edward advised, hoping that a double meaning was conveyed in those words alone. Roy glanced at him briefly as he slipped out of the washroom, waving as he turned around. However, just as he hit the staircase, Edward cut him off once more by sticking his head out of the room.

"Hey, Major General!"

Mustang turned his head back to the side, resting one hand on the railing while he paused.

"Don't forget - I still owe you that 520 cens."

Amusement came to his eyes first upon what was said. The man chuckled heartily before he responded to the promise that they had made those years ago.

"You think I've forgotten that, you nasty pickpocket? I'll take that to the grave if I have to. Take it easy, Fullmetal. You'll do fine today."


End file.
